Wrench socket



May 28,1940'. w. ETROTTER 2,202,240

WRENCH SO CKET Filed Dec. 20, 1915"?v L, q" /f/f, v

ATTORNEYS.,

Patented May 28, 1940 WRENCH SOCKET y Walter F. Trotter, Amelia, OhioApplication December 20, 1937, serial No. 180,774

6 claims.

My invention relates to wrench sockets for either driving or looseningnuts, bolts, or studs, having a head comprising a series of fiat facesin the form of a regular polygon of the usual type well known in theart. My wrench socket is primarily for use in either driving these nutsor loosening the same by means of a power wrench, but is not necessarilylimited to this use since my socket may be employed with a manualwrench, or any kind of a Wrench used for driving a nut. In using theterm nu throughout the specifications and claims, I include as theequivalent a bolt head and analogous terminals to be driven by a socket.

The usual power wrench is so constructed that the nut gripping socket isstationary until the socket is pressed against or over the nut to bedriven, at which time the wrench immediately starts to revolve at arelatively high speed. Due to this construction, the ordinary wrenchsocket has a tendency when placed against a nut to contact the nut'sothat the nut faceswill not at once register against the periphery of thesocket faces, but will be disposed therebetween, so that the nut willnot immediately enter into the socket. Inasmuch as this position of thesocket in relation to the nut stops the forward movement of the socketover the nut and hence presses the socket against the body of thewrench, the Wrench is immediately started and thefsocket commences torevolve at full speed and it has a tendency to jump one or more cornersbetween the faces of the nut before the nut is seated in the socket.This jumping under high speed, quickly wears downk the entering face ofthe socket and strips the edges or the crown of the nut.

It is an object of my invention to provide a wrench socket the leadingface of which is so configured as to insure an even positioning and animmediate entrance of the nut into the socket by longitudinal movementalone. By this construction any jumping of the corners of the nut facesis eliminated since the nut seats in the socket usually before thesocket commences to rotate.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wrench socket soconstructed that 'it may be slipped over the nut while the socket isbeing driven and which is so designed as to prevent the nut corners fromjumping and wearing the entering face of the socket.

It is a further object of my invention to provide a wrench socket havingall ofthe above desirable `now describe a preferred embodiment.

advantages and which will greatly outlast any of l the sockets used atthe present time.

These and other objects of my invention which will be set forthhereinafter or will be apparent toone skilled in the art upon readingthese specications, I accomplishv by that certainconstruction andarrangement of parts of which I shall Reference is now made to thedrawing'which forms a part hereof and in which- Figure l is aperspective View of my novel socket.

- Fig. 2 is a longitudinal cross section of my novel socket and a frontelevation of the nut to be driven. i

Fig. 3 is a cross section of my novel socketent from the above that mysockets are designed y for `right andv left turns only and a singlesocket cannotbe used with the leads functioning for both driving andloosening a nut, although` When once over the nut it may be turnedeither way.

Referring tothe drawing, I provide a wrench socket similar to the usualtype with the usual cut out square hole 2 for mounting on the square end3 of the shank of a wrench. I have notV shown the wrench since anywrench may be used.-

The nut gripping laperture 4 is of the usual type and has flat nutgripping faces 5 for gripping and holding the nut 6 when it lhas enteredthe aperture 4. The leading face 'l of my socket is cut out as at 8 toform helical acting bevels inthe entering edge of each face 5.

These helical acting bevels commence at the leading edge 8a of a face 5from a zero bevel and increase to the maximum bevel at substantially thetrailing edge 8by of the face 5. This type of beveling forms a helicalacting lead Von each face. I do not intend to limit myself to the exactconfiguration of my lead since any cut out or beveling on the enteringedge of the faces 5 which will tend to turn and lead the nut into mysocket upon a longitudinal pressure of my socket is within thecontemplation of my invention.

I have found that it is preferable to curve my bevel or lead 8 with acurvature at least as great as the radius of an external circleembracing the nut to be driven.

Figure 1 of the drawing illustrates my novel socket for a right handturn for driving the nut onto the stud I3. The construction of my socketis such that if in placing it against the nut, the head or crown 9 ofthe nut is so positioned with relation to the socket that the edges l0,defined by the faces 6 of the nut, contact my bevel leads 8 at a pointbetween the two terminals 8a and 8b; the slanting construction of thelead 8 will tend to either rotate the nut upon a longitudinal motion ofthe socket in a reverse direction to thed drive of the socket, until itis aligned in such a manner that the socket will slide over the nut inperfect alignment and registry. This motion will also take place,normally, prior to the driving of the socket. However, when using awrench socket which is driven at all times, or which is so sensitive asto commence revolving upon contact with the crown of the nut, my novelbeveling is so configured as to form a lead which guides the socket overthe nut in the direction of turn of the socket until the edges lll ofthe nut come in line with the edges between the faces 5 of the socket,and hence when the nut is aligned for complete registry. By thisconstruction the terminal 8b of the lead is such that any jumping of thecorners Il] of the nut onto the next lead will be prevented.

In Fig. 3 I have illustrated my novel socket which is identical withthat described above and illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2, but wherein anannular shoulder I l projects beyond the nut gripping aperture and itsleads, in order to embrace the lock washer l2, and prevent it from.spreading when the nut is being driven tightly home.

While the wrench socket I have shown is for driving the nut, Icontemplate the use of my invention in also loosening the nut. In thiscase the configuration of the leads or the bevels will `be reversed butthe bevels will always be such that the leading end of the bevel will bethe zero point 8a.

`It is to be understood that different forms of my preferred form may bemade without departing from the spirit of my invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new and desire tosecure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces, in the form of intersectingplanes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut, and havingbeveled leads cut into said faces for guiding said socket over a nut,said leads being confined to a minor portion of the length of saidfaces.

2. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in theform of intersectingplanes adapted to conform vcompletely to the faces of a nut with thefront or entering edges of said faces beveled away from zero to maximumin the direction of rotation of the socket, said beveled edges beingconfined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

3. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in the form of intersectingplanes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut"withthe1frontor entering edges of said faces vbeveled away from Zero to maximum inthe direction of rotation of the socket, said beveling being curved, andconfined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

4. In a wrench socket, nut holding faces in the form of intersectingplanes adapted to conform completely to the faces of a nut with thefront or entering edges of said faces beveled away from zero to maximumin the direction of rotation of the socket, said beveling being curvedwith a radius at least as great as the overall radius of the nut, andconfined to a minor portion of the length of said faces.

5. A wrench socket for the power driving of nuts having regularpolygonal faces, said socket comprising a body having a hollow thereinfor accepting a nut, said hollow being divided in the direction of itslength into two portions, an innermost portion having polygonal facesadapted to register completely with the faces of the nut, and anentrance portion comprising a prolongation of the said faces, andprovided with a helical lead for cach face thereof, said helical leadreaching its greatest depth at the conjunction of thesaid polygonalfaces in the direction of rotation of said socket, said last mentionedportion being less in lengthv than said first mentioned portion.

6. A wrench socket for the power driving of nuts having regularpolygonal faces, said socket comprising a body having a. hollow thereinfor accepting a nut, said hollow being divided in the direction of itslength into two portions, an innermost portion having polygonal facesadapted to register completely with the faces of the nut, and anentrance portion comprising a prolongation of the said faces, andprovided with a helical lead for each face thereof, said helical leadreaching its greatest depth at the conjunction of the said polygonalfaces in the direction of rotation of said socket, said last mentionedportion being less in length than said first mentioned portion, and saidfirst mentioned portion having a length substantially equivalent to thelength of nuts with which it is to be used.

WALTER F. TROTTER.

